Foreign currency reserves

We manage the UK’s official gold and foreign currency reserves on behalf of the Government. We also manage our Monetary Policy Committee’s smaller pool of foreign currency reserves, and carry out wholesale foreign currency transactions for government departments and a small number of their customers.

UK official gold and foreign currency reserves

The UK’s official holdings of international reserves are made up of:

• gold
• foreign currency assets
• International Monetary Fund (IMF) special drawing rights
• the UK’s Reserve Tranche Position (RTP) at the IMF.

International Monetary Fund

These reserves (except the RTP) are held in a government account known as the Exchange Equalisation Account (EEA), which is administered by the Treasury. We act as the Treasury’s agent in the day-to-day management of the EEA, dealing in foreign exchange and investing the reserves within the framework of a service-level agreement set annually by the Treasury.

We also act as the Treasury’s agent for foreign currency liability management. This includes issuing foreign currency debt (bonds). 

The Bank’s foreign currency reserves

Bond issuance (Euro medium-term note)

Since December 2006, the Bank’s foreign currency reserves have been partly financed through the issuance of medium-term securities. Medium-term securities are typically issued on an annual basis and to a regular timetable. Securities are issued through a syndicate of banks and cannot be purchased directly from the Bank.

Commercial paper issuance

Since 2021, the Bank has also issued commercial paper to fund its foreign currency reserves. Securities issued under the European Commercial Paper (ECP) program are usually denominated in either USD or EUR, and have a maturity of up to 364 days.